Temples and Politics in Sri Lanka

Thusita Weerakoon, London

It is an open secret that religious centres of every community in Sri Lanka such as Buddhist temples, Christian or Catholic Churches, Mosques and Hindu temples work more or less as nucleus of certain political parties. Out of them most of the Buddhist temples try their best to be impartial because Buddhist priests have been disciplined by a religion which advocates the principle of tolerance. It tolerates opposition. It respects racial and religious tolerance. It is well known that many Buddhist priests don't vote for any political party at the General Elections although personally they are in favour of a particular political party or candidate.

It does not mean that Buddhist priests kept silence when the nation was in danger. Always, they represented the majority. Coastal areas of Sri Lanka were under foreign invaders such as the Portuguese, Dutch and British for over 440 years. The Kandy area was under the British rule for over 133 years. Those who worked for or with foreigners were tempted to be westernised. They and their families and their relatives copied everything from the foreign invaders. They were culturally corrupted. They don't respect Sri Lankan culture. They don't have Sri Lankan values. Those who were not westernised even a little bit were called 'Godayas'. We are indebted to Buddhist priests and villagers who live far away from main cities or towns for safeguarding the distinctiveness and uniqueness of the Sri Lankanness.

Buddhist priests were always patriotic. They love villagers, taught villagers languages and Dhamma, advised villagers when required, chanted Pirith and blessed villagers when they fell ill. Buddhist temples and villagers were bound by a number of strong strands. The temple depended on villagers. Villagers depended on the temple. This is how the Buddhist temple became the religious, educational and cultural centre of the majority of Sri Lankans.

Generations and generations will never forget the bravery of Ven. Wariyapola Sri Sumangala Thero who hauled down the British flag in the presence of British armed forces after the Kandyan convention was signed in 1815. Why didn't the British invaders take any action in retaliation? We should never forget that western forces have understood very well how close and strong the relationship is between the Buddhist temple and the majority in Sri Lanka. They know very well that the Buddhist priests are highly respected by the majority. Buddhist priests kept their dignity by being impartial in open politics. However, the long silence of Buddhist priests on political stage was broken in 1956 by giving leadership to change the then social and political culture, as it was a historical and contemporary requirement of the majority. It was the historical beginning of the rising wave of Sri Lankanisation after centuries of colonisation and westernisation.

Western forces are committed to westernise the whole world. They cannot fulfil their aims in Sri Lanka until the strong relationship between the Buddhist temple and villagers is weakened. The British invaders have a wide range of experience of taking the social dignity of Kandyan chiefs away in many ways. One of the easiest and the most popular way of degrading the Kandyan nobles was making them slaves of money. Western forces know that it is not easy to take the social dignity away from Buddhist priests, but remember they have well planned farsighted strategies. The Bandaranayaka
assassination conspiracy is one of them. Can you imagine how carefully they managed to choose, specially the head priest of Kalaniya Temple, to become one of the main accused in the assassination case? What a damaging blow it was then, to the dignity of Mahasangha? It was a certain attempt to reverse the rising wave of Sri Lankanisation, started with the political transition in 1956. It appears that urging Buddhist priests on politics is another strategy of western forces.

The majority in Sri Lanka were urged by terrorist activities of the LTTE and the anti majority and anti national policies of the UNF government to forget their various divisions and to unite together to save the united Sri Lanka. At this historical and decisive moment it is the historical and traditional duty of the Mahasangha to advise and bless the majority to forget their differences and unite as a force to safeguard the unified Sri Lanka.

During the last 20 years we have learned the lesson that unless we have a very strong government it would be extremely difficult to fight terrorism. Terrorists understand that the majority in Sri Lanka are not united. They are divided according to different political ideologies. The more the majority is divided the more the terrorists would benefit. Terrorist activities reached such a point that the majority could not bear it any more. They gave up all different ideologies for the sake of united Sri Lanka. It is just the blessings of the Mahasanga, the majority expects to build a strong and stable government.

We should never forget that politicians would have to address internal audience as well as external audience. International journalists are watching very carefully what is happening in Sri Lanka. They spin news. They exaggerate that the JVP is an extreme Marxist and extreme nationalist party. Sinhala Urumaya (JHU) is named as a racist party. If Buddhist priests contest the General election they would be named as an extreme religious group. The LTTE would benefit from this political environment in many ways. They will be sympathised by international communities. The more the majority is divided the more the LTTE would become powerful.

Jathika Sangha Sammelanaya (JSS) is not a political party. Even JSS has not yet decided what their policies are. They don't have enough time to convince the majority what policies they would implement if they come to power. Voters are not confident whether they are wasting their valuable votes by voting for Sinhala Urumaya. If they waste their votes by voting for unorganised JSS, a strong government would not come to power. This is what the western forces want to happen.

Those who plan to come to power should have economic, education, health, transport and cultural policies. They should build the party so as to represent the needs and expectations of the majority. The country should be built together with the support of the majority as soon as they come to power.
Does JSS have such a plan to lead the country to economic prosperity?

Research Board

JSS would definitely be greatly respected by future generations if it could organise patriotic and educated Sri Lankans to devote their valuable time and energy to work as a Research Board. JSS can do a better service to the country without involving in politics if it started research studies on the following areas:

Geography:

Those who will come to power will never be able to develop the country unless they study extensively the geography of the country: We have to find ways and means how to get the maximum use of every inch of the land in the country.

Mind:

How the self-esteem of the Sri Lankans could be enhanced. How their minds worked in the past, how it works now, and how it should work or shape in future.

Problems:

What are the burning economic, educational, health, transport and cultural problems in Sri Lanka? How and when they started? How they should be solved?

Law and Policy

What internal and international policies should we have? What law should be made and how the law should be enforced to bring peace to build a unified Sri Lanka?

The late Ven. Henpitagedara Gnanaseeha Thero was one of the highly educated Buddhist priests in Sri Lanka. He has done a great service to Buddhism. He has written many valuable books on Buddhist philosophy. However, once he started advocating dictatorship. He said publicly that the then Prime Minister Mrs Bandaranayake should be a dictator. One of the great contemporary writers of Sri Lanka, the late Mr Sri Chndraratna Manawasingha, had to write a new "Parabhava Sutta" to make the well-educated and well-read thero silent. If Mr Manavasingha were alive he could have written another new "Parabhava Sutta" having seen the present puppet show of JSS.

7 Conditions of Prosperity

We respectfully invite the attention of JSS to Parinibbana Sutta in which the Lord Buddha has taught 7 conditions of prosperity. According to the Lord Buddha the second condition is:

" As long as Vajjian Republic meet together in unity, rise in unity and perform their duties in unity so long may the Vajjians be expected not to decline, but to prosper."

If JSS is committed to safeguard the words of the Lord Buddha and if it is genuinely devoted to serve the majority of Sri Lanka the second condition of welfare to be restated as follows:

"As long as Sri Lankans meet together in unity, rise in unity and perform their duties in unity so long may the Sri Lankans be expected not to decline, but to prosper."

Prof. K N Jayathilaka once said, "Nobody can destroy "Bhikhsu Sasanaya". It could be destroyed only by them." Is JSS going to prove Prof. Jayathilaka's above prediction?

According to Prof Jayathilaka there are two measures to decide whether an action is successful. One is the means of the action. The second is the result of the action. Contesting seats in Parliament under the present circumstances, will not agree with the second condition of prosperity declared by the Lord Buddha. It would be very unpleasant and unfortunate opportunity to devoted Buddhists to see two groups of Buddhist priests criticise each other on different political stages. What a humiliating defeat JSS will experience in the aftermath of the coming general election? Knowingly or not, at the end, the dignity of Mahasangha will be liquidated.

Once a Buddhist priest, Meetiyagoda Gunaratana, who previously worked as a Lankadeepa reporter was named as "Wadeebhasingha" by papers as he organised political rallies against the then government when Lake House was going to be taken over. Does anyone know what happened to him thereafter? No one knows about him now. Those days he was known as "Kamararatana". This is how the dignity of Mahasangha was eroded.

At the end of the first sermon of the Lord Buddha many listeners were so impressed that their vision became clear, their knowledge was widened, their wisdom was brightened, and their whole life was illuminated. What has happened to JSS? After the general election JSS will realise that their eyesight is poor, their knowledge is very narrow, they are soaked in ignorance, and their entire life is drowned in thick darkness.

Western forces would be delighted to see how fast they are reaching their aims.